Why hasn't the two-year-old report on sexual harassment and discrimination in Tollywood been made public yet? Who is the Telangana government trying to protect by not revealing it? Why aren't women in the Telugu film industry and civil society members openly demanding the report's release?
Published Sep 04, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 04, 2024 | 11:00 AM
Why hasn’t the two-year-old sub-committee report on sexual harassment and discrimination in Tollywood been made public yet? Who is the Telangana government trying to protect by not revealing it? Why aren’t women in the Telugu film industry and civil society members openly demanding the report’s release?
Even as the sub-committee report on Tollywood has been gathering dust, lying somewhere in the cupboards of a government office, these questions have gained prominence following the ripple effect caused by the recently published Justice Hema Committee Report.
The report exposed the awful conditions women in Malayalam cinema have been facing and helped the survivors of abuse to speak up. The FIRs being filed against actors, filmmakers, and technicians in Malayalam cinema speak volumes about the impact the report has had in Mollywood.
Taking a cue from it, leading women in Telugu cinema and television industries and several feminist organisations have been urging the Telangana government for the past few days to release the report on sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the industry.
The report, titled “Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination in the Telugu Film and Television Industries,” was submitted to the government by a sub-committee on 1 June 2022. Despite the growing calls for transparency, the report has yet to see the light of day.
However, people fighting the battle on social media have kept quiet instead of intensifying pressure on the government through an open letter or public platforms, raising many eyebrows. But, speculations are rife that this could be the silence before the storm.
The common message shared by Samantha and other women celebrities urging the release of the sub-committee report. (Instagram)
Recently, renowned actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu praised the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) on Instagram for their relentless efforts in the release of the Justice Hema Committee Report. She also urged the Telangana government to publish the sub-committee report on sexual harassment to help create necessary policies for a safer working environment for women in the industry.
The message spread across social media like wildfire with prominent figures like Lakshmi Manchu, director Nandini Reddy, and television anchors Suma and Jhansi sharing it. They said, inspired by the WCC, they formed a support group called “The Voice of Women” in May 2019 to look into the complaints within the industry.
This support group was established by Lakshmi Manchu, producers Supriya and Swapna, director Nandini Reddy, and actor Jhansi. It aims to create gender awareness in workspaces and maintain a database of women actors and technicians in the Telugu film industry. Supported by 80 women from various technical departments, the group focuses on addressing injustices faced by women in the industry.
However, the government’s deafening silence and the lack of commitment towards resolving the issues highlighted in the report sparked immense criticism from various quarters of life, including the sub-committee members and various feminist organisations based in Telangana.
The demand for a detailed investigation into MeToo incidents in Tollywood began in 2018 after actor Sri Reddy staged a semi-nude protest outside the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce in Hyderabad. She accused a producer of sexually assaulting her at her residence and drew attention to the exploitation of women in the film industry.
Sri Reddy’s protest ruffled too many feathers in Telugu cinema, which has always been facing allegations of gender parity, discrimination, harassment, sexual favours for work, and the lack of basic amenities for women on the sets, to mention a few.
Following her protest, the Women and Transgender People Organisations Joint Action Committee (WT-JAC) filed a PIL in the High Court of Telangana seeking an in-depth investigation into the exploitation and mistreatment of women in Tollywood.
Sub-committee report on Telugu film industry flags sexual exploitation of women. (South First)
Shortly after this, the Telangana government led by the then chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao constituted a high-level committee in April 2019. The panel comprised actors and technicians from the Telugu film industry, police officials, and retired government officers. It formed a sub-committee to gather detailed information on the issues and also come up with recommendations and legal recourse.
“It’s unfortunate that nobody took a serious note of the issue until Sri Reddy staged a protest. It’s probably the first time that the entire Telugu media gave wide coverage to a woman, given the seriousness of the protest. This triggered several brainstorming sessions for the next few days. The sub-committee was a brainchild of these discussions and debates,” senior journalist-writer-activist Sajaya Kakarla told South First.
Between 2019 and 2022, the sub-committee held over 20 meetings with female junior artistes, supporting actors, dancers, and vulnerable groups in the film and television industries.
Satyavathi Kondaveeti, the founder of Bhumika Women’s Collective and one of the members of the sub-committee, told South First that they held extensive meetings with women from 24 crafts in Telugu cinema and television industries and other stakeholders under the guidance of the Film Development Corporation. “The COVID-19 pandemic delayed our sessions and work. But, in June 2022, we submitted a detailed report on the issues that have been plaguing Tollywood.”
She disclosed that women in the entertainment industry were facing various problems, including sexual exploitation, poor working conditions, and gender pay parity, among others. Satyavati Kondaveeti continued, “We submitted the report to the then-chief secretary Somesh Kumar in the presence of the high-level committee. Somesh Kumar assured that the government would study the report and place it in the public domain but in vain.”
The sub-committee also made several recommendations to the government and underscored the need to formulate stern policies to ensure a safe working environment for women in the entertainment industry.
“To our dismay, we found out that no Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) were set up in Tollywood, as mandated by the PoSH Act [The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013]. Further, women had no access to basic amenities like changing rooms and washrooms. Junior female artistes were the most exploited of all. There were none to take complaints about sexual abuse and there was no accountability,” Sajaya Kakarla chipped in.
The WT-JAC brought up the issue during the meetings with the Telangana government and the State Commission for Women on several occasions. “Despite assurances, no action has been taken yet to publish the findings of the sub-committee. If not the BRS government, the current congress government must make it public now. But their apathy towards the issues faced by women in Tollywood is appalling and highly condemnable,” she felt.
Sub committee report on Telugu film industry has recommended ICC. (South First)
Meanwhile, though many women acknowledged the existence of harassment and discrimination in the industry, they neither gave out detailed information about their traumatic experiences nor named the persons who abused and exploited them.
The exploitation and harassment “became part of the work culture in the entertainment industry” because there are hardly any women in film unions and on the sets, a budding female artiste told South First, on the condition of anonymity.
“While the lack of support and redressal mechanisms discourage us from sharing our experiences, the fear of ‘discrimination’ and ‘victim blaming’ we might face in our workplaces refrain us from revealing the names of perpetrators,” she pointed out.
Deepthi Sirla, a queer rights activist and member of WT-JAC, observed that the Telugu cinema and television industries, like their counterparts, are controlled by power groups. “Going against them or revealing the names of perpetrators would only mean harm at personal and professional levels,” she told South First.
She added, “It’s pathetic that no star actor or bigwigs from the Telugu film industry spoke about these atrocities over these years or extended their solidarity with the victims. Instead, they conveniently chose to turn a blind eye to the travails of these women.”
The sub-committee report included several recommendations aimed at improving the working conditions for women in the Telugu film and television industries:
In a recent interview, former Telangana minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav dismissed the sub-committee report on Tollywood as “vague”. He claimed that while many people were interviewed, the report lacked specific details that required immediate action from the government.
Actor-television presenter Jhansi, who was a member of the sub-committee, expressed her frustration with the government’s inaction. “It’s unfortunate that there’s no sense of urgency in this regard. The report is waiting on someone’s desk, waiting for a kick or a shove. Sadly, neither the Telugu film and television fraternity nor the government is evincing any interest in it,” she told ThePrint.
Meanwhile, some industry insiders reportedly launched support mechanisms like WhatsApp groups for women to share their traumatic experiences and seek help. “We are sending out a strong note to habitual offenders that what they’re doing is a crime. Hope that everything will shake up in Tollywood too. We are here for women who want to speak up,” Jhansi added.
Against this backdrop, a group of WT-JAC members recently submitted a representation to Telangana Women’s Commission Chairperson Sharada Nerella seeking the organisation’s support in this issue.
Further, civil rights activists and feminist organisations in Telangana, under the aegis of WT-JAC, are planning to hold a press meet in Hyderabad soon, in association with female actors and technicians from Telugu cinema and television, to push the Telangana government to publish the two-year-old sub-committee report on Tollywood and initiate concrete measures to ensure a safe work environment for women in the entertainment industry.
(South First is now on WhatsApp and Telegram)
